Plato’s dialogue: knowledge is more valuable than a true belief
Plato asks the question why knowledge is more important than a true belief. Plato believes that knowledge is the only guide to perform appropriate actions. Although, a true belief can be a guide to do correct actions, knowledge is better than it. Knowledge uses reliable processes in guiding right actions, but a true belief does not possess this vital feature. True beliefs can convince an individual to believe in them. Known beliefs are more important than true beliefs. In Plato’s dialogue, Socrates appears to believe that a true belief is as important as knowledge. Plato claims that knowledge makes a person to become confident in his beliefs. A true belief may not make a person confident in his beliefs. Knowledge needs justification in order to make an individual confident in his beliefs, which enable the person not to doubt his beliefs.
A true belief may not make a person confident which knowledge perfectly does. Knowledge makes someone’s beliefs capable to develop practical actions. True beliefs may make an individual have confidence in whatever he says, but this certainty sometimes fails. When an individual has knowledge, the person is confident in what he does and this explains why knowledge is better than true belief. Knowledge has intrinsic values and requires a reliable process to make things worthy (valuable). A true belief is a constituent component of knowledge. Knowledge is a guide to perform practical and correct actions. People who use knowledge in carrying out their actions always perform right activities. On the other hand, individuals who use true beliefs in doing their actions may sometimes perform right actions, but sometimes they may fail. Knowledge brings successful actions in the practical life.
Pritchard’s discussion and Plato’s Dialogue
Duncan Pritchard’s views regarding why knowledge is more vital than true beliefs is different from Plato’s suggestions. While Plato believes that knowledge is better than a true belief, Pritchard views that knowledge has certain intrinsic values, which true beliefs do not have. Pritchard claims that a true belief is similar to knowledge when knowledge has only extrinsic values (without intrinsic values). Extrinsic values enable knowledge to perform practical actions. Plato thinks that knowledge is a guide to perform practical actions (extrinsic values) while true beliefs only in certain cases may lead to practical actions. Pritchard explains that knowledge must have intrinsic values to enable it guides and performs the right actions just as virtues guide human behaviours. Having instrumental (extrinsic) values does not enable knowledge to be more superior to true beliefs.
Plato recognizes that knowledge makes use of reliable processes that successfully perform appropriate actions. Pritchard presents that knowledge possesses both intrinsic and extrinsic values hence knowledge is more significant than true beliefs. Pritchard thinks that while extrinsic values enable knowledge to carry out practical actions, intrinsic values enable knowledge to guide actions into correct activities. True beliefs lack reliable processes to conduct right actions. This implies that hope and faith are the guiding principles of true beliefs for doing actions. This means that actions of true beliefs are inferior to actions of knowledge because they lack reliable processes. Pritchard considers that reliable disposition of human understanding makes knowledge efficient in delegating meaningful actions.